Spreading rash on 7yr old son

A couple days ago my son developed a rash around his knees. The rash spread to the back of his arms, inside of elbows, and his buttocks.  The rash was intensly itchy and consists of little hard red bumps.  Then he had an itchy spot on the bottom of his foot that resembled a plantars wart.  The following day the area was covered by bumps that are lighter colored than the skin.  The bumps were intensly itchy, the bottom of the foot is covered with bumps that can be felt by touch more than seen.  The rash on his body seems to be more concentrated on the soft skin areas except for the bottom and back (Achilles tendon)of his feet. Could these rashes be related?  We have applied a 1% Hydrocortisone and Gold Bond creams.  The itching and size of pimples are reduced for a short period of time.  He will not take any oral Benadryl.  He is extremely bothered by the itching.  

Any help would be appreciated.

Karl      

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

Karl:

When kids get little bumps all over, either on the skin or under it (or both), it's usually a virus of some sort.  Often there are no other symptoms, such as cough, runny nose, and so on.

If your son is taking no new medications, I would just wait it out for 3-4 more days.  treat itch with cool compresses or itch lotions containing Benadryl or pramoxine.  Taking oral Benadryl is more trouble than it's worth; kids may get hyper from it instead of less itchy.

If the rash doesn't just fade away, as I predict it will, show it to your pediatrician.

Good luck.

Dr. R